‘Port and rail need to up their game’

The potential of Durban is
hinged on the service levels
of the ports and the success
of container rail movement between
Durban and Johannesburg. But unless
these services work effectively,
volumes will be lost to other ports
and modes of transport, says Dennis
Trotter, SACD Freight regional
director for Gauteng.
“During the past 18 months there
has been a noticeable drop in import
volumes, which is a large component
of the SACD Durban business,” says
Trotter. “We are however sensing a
turnaround, so hopefully the situation
will be short-lived.”
Since its launch in 1977 when
containerisation came to South
Africa, the company has seen its fair
share of market ups and downs.
“We currently have excess capacity
in our warehouse and full yard so
our immediate challenge is to source
additional volumes in what is a very
difficult market,” says Trotter. “We
are however confident due to our
excellent location that we will shortly
correct this and that we will see
volumes pick up sooner rather
than later.”
A major frustration for the
company, says Trotter, is the recent
deterioration of the rail service to and
from Johannesburg. SACD has many
customers who would use rail – but
based on current service levels they
are forced to use road from Durban.
The company is confident that it
has turned the recession corner and
has set its sights on the next
financial year.
“As with all recessions they create
opportunities and it is SACD’s
objective to capitalise on such
opportunities as they come around.
We have the capacity and resources
to take advantage of new business
opportunities and the inevitable return
of past volumes,” says Trotter. “We
also believe if we have a successful
2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup there
will be a positive tail wind for some
years to come.”
Furthermore SACD Durban has
increased undercover warehousing
space with the addition of a new
2000 m² warehouse equipped to
handle both import and export
cargoes, Imtiaz Karim, business
development manager SACD
Durban added.